You're reading: COVID-19 in Ukraine: 2,394 new cases, 156 new deaths, 11,457 recoveries

Ukraine has registered 2,394 new cases of COVID-19 as of 9 a.m. on Feb. 1, bringing the total number of cases in the country since the start of the pandemic to over 1.2 million.

In the past 24 hours, 11,457 COVID-19 patients have recovered and 156 have died.

Over 1 million people have recovered from COVID-19 and 22,924 have died since the pandemic hit Ukraine.

There are currently 165,583 active cases in Ukraine.

In the past 24 hours, Ukrainian laboratories have carried out 16,589 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests and 15,031 antibody tests. Over 6.2 million PCR tests have been conducted since the start of the pandemic.

The largest numbers of new cases have been recorded in the city of Kyiv (285), Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast (278), and Zaporizhia Oblast (217).

Ukraine’s daily COVID-19 cases, deaths and recoveries from Dec. 16, 2020 to Feb. 1, 2021. All data was released by the Ministry of Health.

On Jan. 25, Ukraine reopened after the lockdown that has been in place since Jan. 8. The work of all non-essential businesses has now resumed.

Health Minister Maksym Stepanov believes the number of new coronavirus infections has declined thanks to toughened quarantine restrictions.

However, the number of PCR tests administrated daily has been declining dramatically since early December, too. Stepanov faces criticism that the new infection figures are not reliable and that the number of infected people is much higher than the ministry’s reported.

Ukraine’s daily new COVID-19 cases and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, the most accurate way of diagnosing the novel coronavirus, between Jan. 1, 2020 and Feb. 1, 2021.

On Jan. 24, Stepanov announced the Ministry had no plans to impose a new lockdown because the January one worked well.

The country went back to the adaptive quarantine measures that had been in force since before the January lockdown. Under the quarantine that is set to last at least until Feb. 28, mass gatherings like concerts and parties are limited to 20 people, restaurants can work until 11 p.m., and the policies on masks and social distancing remain in force in all public spaces.

Starting Jan. 14, business owners are fined if their employees or customers don’t wear face masks. The fines can range between $122 and $183.

According to the law passed by the government on Jan. 13, when employees notice a customer without a mask, they have to stop servicing them and call the police if the person refuses to put on their mask. A mask has to cover both the nose and mouth.

While numerous countries started vaccinating their citizens in mid-December, Ukraine will start in February.

Ukraine will receive 117,000 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in February, followed by up to 3.7 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine within six months. Medical workers who treat COVID-19 and front-line troops in eastern Ukraine will be the first in line for free vaccination.

Read also: Everything to know about COVID vaccination in Ukraine

According to a survey by Rating sociological group, 52% of Ukrainians would not take the coronavirus vaccine, even if it was free.